South Korean crypto exchanges paid $977K in disability hiring levies over 5 years

South Korea’s major cryptocurrency exchanges paid a combined 1.35143 billion won ($977,000) in levies over the past five years for failing to meet mandatory hiring quotas for people with disabilities, the Busan Ilbo reported. According to data lawmaker Park Dae-chul of the ruling People Power Party, a member of the National Policy Committee, received from five exchanges — Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, DigitalX and Gopax — the exchanges paid 1.35143 billion won between 2021 and 2025. The levy applies when workplaces above a certain size fail to meet the mandatory employment rate for people with disabilities, which stands at 3.10% this year. Dunamu, the operator of South Korean exchange Upbit, paid the largest amount at 723.09 million won ($523,000).